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Simon Edvinsson has shown tremendous growth this season. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Simon Edvinsson’s Development Key to Red Wings Defense

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Devin Little | Last updated Oct 17, 2025 8:35 AM ET

From the moment the Detroit Red Wings made Simon Edvinsson the sixth selection in the 2021 draft, it was clear the towering defenseman would be an important part of the organization’s long-term plan. Almost five years later and it has become quite clear how exactly he fits into the big picture.

Four games into his second full season with the Red Wings, Edvinsson has already established himself as a minute-munching top-four defender. Now that Moritz Seider has established himself as the de facto leader on the blue line, it’s time for Edvinsson to step up and establish himself as Seider’s “second in command”, an equal in terms of reliability and capability.

Big things are ahead for Edvinsson, and the Red Wings, if he can.

Edvinsson Anchors the 2nd Pair

It didn’t take long for Edvinsson to claim a premier role with the Red Wings. After spending some time with Seider on the Red Wings’ top pair early last season, Edvinsson settled in on the team’s second pairing. Often paired with rookie Albert Johansson, Edvinsson produced positive results, both quantitative and qualitative.

While plus/minus is a flawed statistic, it can be useful when considered with context. For example, Edvinsson not only led the Red Wings with a plus/minus of plus-12, but he was the only defenseman to post a positive rating. He wasn’t sheltered either as he began 57 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone. This suggests that he was not overburdened by his defensive assignments, and he had an impact on the puck exiting the defensive zone and entering the offensive one.

Edvinsson had seven goals and 31 points in 78 games, and he looked comfortable on the team’s power play late in the season. His physical gifts such as his size (6-foot-6, 222 pounds) and long reach help him break up plays in his own zone, and he often looks just as capable of using his stick to spir Detroit’s offense. He’s a highly aware defenseman and that makes him useful in any type of situation.

Despite having just over 100 NHL games under his belt, Edvinsson has earned the trust of his coaches, averaging over 21 minutes of ice-time since the start of last season. That trust earned him something of a mentor role this season as he has been paired with rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka to start this season.

Edvinsson & Sandin-Pellikka a Future Top Pair?

Edvinsson is 22 years old, but he is already in a “stabilizing” role next to the 20-year-old Sandin-Pellikka. The latter earned a spot on the Red Wings’ roster by showcasing excellent vision on the ice as well as a keen sense of when to attack in the offensive zone. His aggressive playstyle sometimes leaves him in vulnerable positions defensively, but the coaching staff trusts Edvinsson to cover those vulnerabilities.

It is admittedly dangerous to compare current players to all-time greats, but the make up of this pairing is reminiscent of the Nicklas Lidstrom/Brian Rafalski pairing that helped lead the Red Wings to a Stanley Cup championship back in 2008. By no means is that a projection of their individual ceilings, but they have serious potential as a pairing.

Through four games this season, the Red Wings have controlled play whenever Edvinsson and Sandin-Pellikka are on the ice. While the puck hasn’t gone into the back of the net at a high rate yet, it has gone towards the net at a steady rate. Theoretically, the goals will come if they continue to play the way they are.

But this is just the beginning. Sandin-Pellikka is a rookie and Edvinsson is only in his second full season. While there will absolutely be bumps along the way – and four games is hardly a hefty sample size – there is no denying how dynamic these two Swedish defensemen look together. Even though Seider has had an exclusive claim to the top pairing since he arrived in Detroit, the Red Wings’ second pairing may already be their most effective. As they continue to develop, it isn’t far-fetched to suggest Edvinsson and Sandin-Pellikka will one day sit atop the team’s defensive depth chart.

That upside, as well as Edvinsson’s role in the present, is why his status as an upcoming restricted free agent is so intriguing.

Edvinsson’s Upcoming Payday

Edvinsson represents the most important contract negotiation of general manager Steve Yzerman’s tenure since he had to ink deals for both Seider and Lucas Raymond last summer. The two of them are signed for a combined cap hit of $16.6 million, a significant value as the salary cap is expected to skyrocket over the next few years.

The Red Wings will hope to hit a sweet spot with Edvinsson in the same way. While Yzerman did well to keep Seider and Raymond’s cap hits under captain Dylan Larkin’s $8.7 million hit, the dynamics of the salary cap have already changed significantly. Edvinsson’s cap hit may very well exceed Larkin’s number, and it’s because the pie is bigger, even when players are getting a “proportional” piece of it.

Back in July, THW’s Tony Wolak projected an eight-year deal with a cap hit of $8.125 million – and even that feels like it might be a little outdated now that we have more contracts to use as possible comparables. For example, Luke Hughes, drafted two spots before Edvinsson in the 2021 draft, recently signed a seven-year contract with the New Jersey Devils at a cap hit of $9 million.

Here’s the first real solid Edvinsson comp. https://t.co/pmgjIq8PMG
— Brad Krysko WWP (@BradKrysko) October 1, 2025

Regardless of what Edvinsson’s final number is, it will further establish the Red Wings’ salary cap structure moving forward. Larkin, Seider and Raymond are all signed long-term, and second line center Marco Kasper will be in Edvinsson’s shoes next year. Detroit has enjoyed significant financial flexibility since the turn of the decade, but Yzerman will have to be shrewd in his negotiations to lock his core down while maintaining that flexibility.

If Yzerman and the Red Wings can come to terms with Edvinsson on a long-term deal, the organization will have their two pillars on the blue line locked in as it enters the fun part of its competitive cycle.

Edvinsson’s Importance

When Yzerman started building the Red Wings into what they are today, he began by selecting Seider in the first round of the 2019 draft. He added Raymond to the fold the next year, and then Edvinsson was the next prospect to join them. His destiny as a key part of the Red Wings’ future was clear the moment the organization made him the sixth pick of that draft.

Edvinsson already gives the team another defender, along with Seider, that opposing forwards have a hard time getting around. Edvinsson’s two-way game continues to blossom over time, and his presence should help Sandin-Pellikka reach his full potential as well. The Red Wings haven’t had a one-two punch like Seider and Edvinsson on the blue line since Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall, and Seider and Edvinsson should continue to get better as the team around them improves.

Edvinsson’s path to the NHL wasn’t the smoothest, but now that he’s here, he is inserting himself into the conversation of the top young defensemen in the league. The further he gets into that conversation, the more likely the Red Wings are going to have a terrorizing defense for the next decade or more.

Based on the early results this season, they’re already well on their way.